BioVine project - Increase plant health through mycorrhizal fungi
Résumé
Organic vineyards still rely on large external inputs to control harmful organisms. BIOVINE will develop natural solutions based on plant diversity to control pests and reduce pesticide dependence. The capacity of plants of increasing the ecosystem resistance to pests and invasive species is a well-known ecosystem service. However, monocultures like vineyards do not exploit the potential of plant diversity. BIOVINE aims to develop new viticultural systems based on increased plant diversity within (e.g. cover crops) and/or around vineyards by planting selected plant species for the control of arthropods, soil-borne pests (oomycetes, fungi, nematodes), and foliar pathogens. Candidate plants will be identified by literature review, and the selected ones will be tested in controlled environment or small-scale experiments. The ability of the selected plants to: i) attract or repel target arthropod pests; ii) conserve/promote beneficial organisms; iii) control soil-borne pests by mean of biofumigation; iv) carry mycorrhizal fungi to vine root system to increase plant health (growth and resistance); v) control foliar pathogens by reducing the inoculum spread from soil, will be investigated. New viticultural systems able to exploit plant diversity will then be designed based on results of BIOVINE activities, following a design-assessment-adjustment cycle, which will then be tested by invineyard experiments for a 2-year period. Innovative viticultural systems should represent an improved way for pest control in organic viticulture, meanwhile they should positively affect functional biodiversity and ecosystem services.